My Brother's Keeper
by labgeekluvr
Summary: Danny deals with the beating and subsequent murder of his brother Louie, and is later kidnapped by members of the Tanglewood gang. Will they succeed in turning him into one of him?
1. Chapter 1

Title: My Brother's Keeper

Rating: PG

Time: Missing Scenes from "Run Silent, Run Deep" (Season Two)

Mac returned to CSI headquarters after arresting Sonny Sassone for the murder of the young man buried in the end zone at Giants Stadium. Lindsey greeted him with a smile.

"I heard you got him," Lindsey said.

"Yeah, I played him the tape you discovered among Louis Messer's personal effects. I think we have a pretty solid case against him," Mac explained.

"Danny will be back on assignment then?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah, depending on how his brother's doing. Danny might need some time off. But once he's ready he'll be back on regular field duty," Mac said.

"Good. I'm heading over to the hospital now. You know, I think Danny might want to hear what's on that tape," Lindsey said.

"Sure. You gonna ahead. I'll stop by later," Mac said, handing Lindsey the tape recorder.

Lindsey made her way to Trinity Hospital to the floor where Louis Messer was a patient. She found Danny sitting in the waiting room, talking on a cell phone to his father. He smiled when he saw Lindsey and finished his phone call.

"You didn't need to cut short your call on my account," Lindsey smiled.

"Nah, it's okay, Montana. We were just wrapping up when you got here," Danny said, still trying to smile for Lindsey.

"How you holding up?" Lindsey asked, seeing through the smile.

"Y'know," Danny said haltingly, lowering his eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Lindsey said, taking his hand in hers. He squeezed it gently and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

"What's that you got there?" Danny asked, noticing the tape recorder.

"Something I think you should hear," Lindsey said, handing Danny the recorder. She had the tape cued up to the part of the message where Louis was talking to Sonny about his brother:

"_They're looking at my brother for this, but you and I both know he was never there that night. I punked him out. I knew what was going down, I knew he wasn't ready for that."_

Danny continued to listen, and learned that Sonny had copped to the murder. Tears welled up in his eyes as he shut off the tape.

"My brother chased me away on purpose? To protect me?" Danny asked. Lindsey nodded, reaching her arm around him to comfort him. "He never said anything all these years. He and I lost touch, and all that time he was looking out for me."

Lindsey sat with Danny for a couple minutes, wiping away his tears and stroking his hair as he wept.

"Thanks, Montana," he said, handing her back the tape recorder. He took her hand and kissed it. "I gotta go in and see my brother now."

"I'll take this back to the lab. I'll walk out with you," Lindsey said, still holding his hand. Lindsey made her way back to the lab. On her way she had run into Mac and told him that Danny had listened to the tape. She put the tape back into the evidence box and stored it away. She was about to head for home when she got a call on her cell phone.

"Hey, Montana," a familiar but shaky voice greeted her hello.

"Hey Danny, how's it going?" Lindsey said.

"No change. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind joining me for a beer tonight. I could sure use the company," Danny said.

"Sure, Danny. Our usual place?"

"Sounds good to me. Should I meet you there?"

"How 'bout I meet you outside the hospital, and we'll walk over from there?" Lindsey asked.

"Sounds like a plan, Montana. See you in a bit," Danny said.

Lindsey hung up her phone and headed out into the night. She met Danny outside the hospital, looking worn but happy to see her. They embraced warmly and held each other for a moment, then made their way to their favorite spot to share a beer and some company.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: My Brother's Keeper, chapter 2

As Louie Messer lay in his comatose state, a male nurse entered the room. He produced a syringe and injected it into Louie's IV port. The nurse deposited the syringe into a receptacle and left the room silently. Moments later, Louie went into cardiac arrest and died.

Danny Messer was enjoying a beer with Lindsay at their favorite pub. Although Mac wasn't playing tonight, this is where Lindsay had first brought Danny to hear him play, and they enjoyed an occasional after-work drink there many times. Danny didn't feel much like talking, but he enjoyed Lindsay's company and the feel of her hand in his nonetheless.. Their comfortable silence was broken by Danny's cellphone ringing. He checked the caller id.

"It's the hospital," he said to Lindsay, looking concerned. He answered the phone. "This is Danny Messer."

"Mr Messer, this is Dr. Stevens from Trinity Hospital. I regret to inform you that your brother has gone into cardiac arrest. He passed away a few moments ago," the voice on the phone said.

"Cardiac arrest? That's impossible! Why the hell would he go into cardiac arrest?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"Rest assured, we will have the medical examiner do a full autopsy and we'll get to the bottom of this. My condolences Mr. Messer," Dr. Stevens said.

Danny hung up the phone and grabbed Lindsay's hand, pressing it to his cheek. "Louie's dead," he said tearfully.

"Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry," Lindsay said, stroking his face.

"I need to call Mac. Somethin's not right. The doctor said he went into cardiac arrest, there was no reason for that," Danny said, reaching for his cellphone again. "Mac, it's Danny. Louie's dead. I dunno what happened. The doctor said it was a cardiac arrest. No there's no history of heart trouble, and nothing that indicated that his injuries were the cause. Alright, Mac. Thanks." He hung up the phone and turned back to Lindsay. "Mac's on his way over to the hospital, he said we should meet him there," Danny said.

"Let's go," Lindsay said, giving him a quick kiss before she grabbed her coat.

By the time they reached the hospital, Louie's body was already on its way to the medical examiner. Mac was in Louie's room with his kit. He greeted Lindsay and Danny.

"Lindsay, I want you to check the receptacle for any hypodermic needles, and be careful. Perhaps something was injected into Louie's IV to cause him to go into cardiac arrest," Mac said.

"I'm on it," Lindsay responded.

"Danny, I'm sorry, but I think it's best you go home. I can't have you processing the scene, there'd be conflict of interest," Mac said. He put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "It's been a rough day for you. Go home, get some rest."

Danny didn't have the strength to argue. He just nodded, and headed out, pausing to squeeze Lindsay's shoulder as he passed her. He stepped outside the hospital and pulled out his cellphone. "Yeah, Pop, it's Danny. Louie's dead. I don't know a lot of details, but it looks suspicious. The doctor said he went into cardiac arrest. Mac's on it now, so he's in good hands. I'll keep you posted. Yeah, you too, Pop. Bye now." Danny hung up his cellphone and was about to start walking to his car when he felt a sharp blow to the back of the head. His cellphone fell to the sidewalk. Two men dragged Danny's limp body to a waiting SUV and disappeared out of sight.

"I'll take these needles back to the lab and start processing them," Lindsay said. She headed downstairs and exited the hospital. As she made her way she noticed a cellphone lying on the sidewalk. She picked it up and looked up the owner's phone number–she recognized it as Danny's. She looked around and noticed there were blood drops on the sidewalk. She reached for her cellphone. "Mac, it's Lindsay. I'm outside the hospital. I think Danny's been kidnapped. He dropped his cellphone and there's blood."

"Bag the phone and collect the blood, I'll be right down," Mac said. He hung up and dialed another number. "Flack, it's Mac. Danny Messer's missing. He was just here at the hospital. He's brother's dead and now it looks like he's been kidnapped. Alright, see you in a bit.

Danny awakened to find himself shirtless and lying face down on a table. He felt a sharp instrument being drawn across his back, like he was being tattoed. He tried to move but he was strapped down.

"Easy there, punk, you'll make me mess up with all you're moving around," a voice said.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Danny demanded.

"Giving you your mark, you're part of the family now," the voice added. The tattoing stopped. "There now, that's a fine piece of work, wouldn't you agree, boss?"

A man stepped forward. Danny recognized him as one of Sonny Sassone's cronies–a thug named Tony.

"Nice work, Joe. A regular work of art," Tony said, clapping his partner on the back.

"_Joe?"_ Danny thought to himself. _"Great, I've gotten myself tangled up with the Tanglewood boys again."_

Tony pulled a gun on Danny as Joe loosened the straps that held Danny down on the table.

"Don't even tell me you slapped a Tanglewood tattoo on my back, 'cuz if you did, you're wasting your time," Danny said.

"Don't be so sure about that, " Tony said. "We need a replacement for your brother. He wasn't much use to us in a coma, and he's certainly no use to us dead."

"You killed him. You killed my brother you son-of-a bitch!" Danny shouted. He lunged at Tony but was held back by Joe.

"Save your strength, Tiger. You're gonna need it. Besides, I'd hate to have to waste you already. Not smart going after a man with a gun, Messer," Tony said.

"Like I said, you're wasting your time. I want no part of this," Danny said.

Tony nodded to Joe, who sucker-punched Danny in the stomach. Danny fell to his knees.

"You don't have a choice," Tony said. He nodded again, and Joe gave Danny a swift kick to the ribs. Danny slumped over onto his side, curling up into a fetal position, grabbing his stomach. Tony reached down and grabbed Danny by the hair of his head. "Either you cooperate, or people are going to get hurt," Tony threatened.

"Why don't you just get it over with and kill me, 'cuz I'd rather be dead than be any part of your racket," Danny grimmaced.

"That would be a waste. Instead, I'll give you a little incentive. We need you to kill Mac Taylor. You do that for us, and maybe that pretty little girlfriend of yours will get to keep her pretty little head. You fail to cooperate, and Joe and I might just have to have a little fun with her, you understand?" Tony said.

"You leave Lindsay the hell alone!" Danny shouted.

"You do for us, we'll do for you. Now, get up!" Tony shouted, grabbing Danny and hoisting him to his feet.

At CSI headquarters, Sheldon Hawkes examined Louie's body and discovered that he had air injected into his IV, causing an air bubble to form in his blood vessels and cause the cardiace arrest. Lindsay processed all the syringes and found one that didn't have any trace of drugs in it.

"That's likely the murder weapon," Mac said.

"Unfortunately there's no prints on it either. Nothing to tie us to a suspect," Lindsay said.

"Who would want Louie dead? And who would kidnap Messer?" Mac asked.

"You're assuming the two are connected?" Hawkes asked.

"Too coincidental not to be. The two were brothers after all. And both had connections to the Tanglewood gang," Mac explained.

"But Sonny Sassone was arrested," Lindsay protested.

"Yes, but his associates weren't. Run a list of known associates for Sonny Sassone. See who you come up with," Mac said.

"I found here a Tony Scalia and a Joseph Milano," Lindsay said.

"Tony and Joe–they were with Sonny when that Tanglewood wanna-be was killed a couple years ago. Hawkes, you remember, Sonny sanded off his fake tattoo," Mac said.

"Yeah, I do remember. Nasty way to have a tattoo removed. What do you think these two might want with Danny? And why kill Louie?" Hawkes asked.

"Well Louie was beaten up by the Tanglewood boys most likely. He turned his back on the gang, and he's a liability. If he woke up he could testify against Sonny and possibly implicate other Tanglewood members. They probably nabbed Danny to replace Louie and possibly get to us," Mac said. Mac's cellphone rang. "This is Detective Taylor," he said.

"Detective Taylor, we have your CSI Messer. If you want to see him alive you will meet us in Central Park West in two hours–alone. Bring the tape recording you found on Louie," the voice said.

"Let me talk to Danny," Mac demanded.

"You'll see Messer when I see the tape," the voice reiterated.

"Don't do it Mac, it's a trap..." Mac heard Danny yell in the background.

"Shut him up!" The voice demanded. "Central Part West, two hours, with the tape, or Messer's dead." The phone went dead.

"We've got a situation," Mac said.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: My Brother's Keeper, Chapter 3

Don Flack sat waiting in an interrogation room until Sonny Sassone was brought in, arms and legs in shackles, wearing a prison jumpsuit.

"Detective Don Flack," Sonny smirked. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Sit down, Sunshine. I've got a few questions for ya," Flack said. The two officers who brought Sonny in led him over to a chair and helped him to sit down. They then exited the room to wait outside. "What do you know about Louie Messer's death?"

"Louie's dead? I heard he got jumped but I didn't think it was that bad. Just needed some sense knocked into him," Sonny said.

"This is the first you're hearing of this," Flack smirked.

"On my mother's grave," Sonny swore.

"Nice. So I guess that means you also know nothin' about Danny Messer's disappearance," Flack continued.

"Danny's missing? That's news to me. Serves him right, sticking his nose where it don't belong," Sonny smirked.

"Danny's good at what he does, and he's a good friend of mine, so let's play nice okay? Any chance your hoodlums are working independently of you now that you're in the can–carrying on the Tanglewood tradition without ya?" Flack asked.

"There's always that possibility. They got no orders from me. I'm tryin' to be on my best behavior here," Sonny smiled.

"Good luck with that. What would your boys be wanting with Mac Taylor and the tape from the wire Louie wore?" Flack asked.

"Hell if I know. What's it to you?" Sonny said.

"Never you mind that. We're done here," Flack said, standing up and walking to the door. He let the guards back in. "Take him back to his cell," he said. He then pointed a finger at Sonny. "You'd better hope I find no connection between you and your thugs, or there'll be hell to pay," he said.

"Is that a promise?" Sonny smirked as he was being led away.

Flack shook his head and pulled out his cellphone. "Mac, it's Don. Sonny claims no knowledge of Louie's death or Danny's disappearance. If it's the Tanglewood boys they're acting independently of Sonny now that he's in jail."

Suddenly one of the guards that was with Sonny came running back to the interrogation room.

"Detective, come quickly!" he shouted.

"Mac, gotta go, I may have a situation here," Flack said, hanging up the phone. He followed the guard to the visitation area where Sonny Sassone lay in a pool of blood, a sharpened toothbrush protruding from his neck. Two guards were subduing another prisoner, apparently the one who had stabbed Sonny.

"What the hell happened here?" Flack asked angrily.

"We were taking Sonny back to his cell, and as we were passing through the visitation area, this other prisoner comes up and stabs Sonny in the neck with the toothbrush," the guard said.

Flack pulled out his cellphone again. "Mac it's Flack again. Sonny's dead–stabbed by another prisoner. We'll need two of your guys up here. Stella and Lindsay? Good deal, I'll taking this clown to booking and meet them here," he said, hanging up his phone. "Nobody touches that body until the crime lab gets here, got it?" He told the guards. "Take him to the interrogation room, now!"

The guards took the prisoner they were holding down to the interrogation room that Flack and Sonny had just been in. They crammed the prisoner into the chair and stayed in the room this time with him.

"Who is this clown?" Flack asked the guards.

"Name's Johnson, sir," one of the guards said.

"Who put you up to this? Huh? Did one of the Tanglewood boys pay you a visit?" Flack asked angrily. "Answer me!" He demanded.

"I'm not saying nothing 'til my lawyer gets here," Johnson said.

"Beautiful. Leave it to a con to lawyer up. Get him out of here. Take him to booking to process him and lock him back up," Flack snapped. The guards led Johnson away. Flack grabbed a coffee mug that was on the table and hurled it against the wall. He took a deep breath, then went back out to see if Stella and Lindsay had arrived yet.

"Hey Don," Stella said. He muttered a hello. "Rough day, huh?"

"I don't like this. The Tanglewoods are turning on each other. This is starting to scare me," Flack said.

"Do you think this has anything to do with Danny's disappearance?" Lindsay asked apprehensively.

"Don't worry about Danny, Kitten. He's a tough cookie. He's been around the Tanglewoods long enough to keep himself outta trouble," Flack said, sounding like he was trying to convice himself as much as Lindsay. Lindsay and Stella looked at each other–they knew Flack was just as worried as they were.

Mac made his way to Central Park West. He waited only a couple minutes before he spotted two men, dragging Danny along with them. Mac could see that he had been beaten severely. Danny stumbled and fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. Mac could see the edges of a tattoed "T" and "d" peeking out from the edge of the undershirt Danny was wearing. Danny looked up at Mac, and could tell by the look on his face that Mac had seen the tattoo. Danny lowered his head in shame, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow him. "Mac must think I've joined them," he thought to himself.

"I want to see the log book for everyone who's come in to visit today," Detective Flack demanded. A guard handed the log book to Detective Flack. "Let's see, Johnson. Here we go. That can't be," he said, concerned.

"What is it?" Stella asked.

"Johnson's vistor signed himself in as Danny Messer."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: My Brother's Keeper, chapter 4

"Let me see that," Lindsay demanded, walking over to see the log sheet that Don was holding. "That's not Danny's handwriting," she said confidently.

"You sure about that?" Flack asked.

"Believe me, I know Danny's chicken scratch, and that's not it," Lindsay said. Stella peered over her shoulder and nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure we can give you something from the lab to compare," Stella said.

"I'll take this to dust for prints, though I'm sure there's probably hundreds of prints on there," Lindsay said.

"Narrow your comparison to known associates of the Tanglewood boys," Flack said.

"Where's your suspect now?" Lindsay said.

"I sent him to booking and then they'll take him back to his cell," Flack said.

"We'll need to process him for evidence," Lindsay said.

"I'll take the two of you down to booking, I'm not taking any chances," Flack said as he accompanied the ladies to booking.

Tony grabbed Danny by the hair and pulled him to his feet. Mac winced to see his co-worker treated so roughly.

"Meet the new generation of the Tanglewood boys," Tony sneered. "The days of Sonny and Louie are over. Say hello to our new blood," Tony said, roughly slapping Danny on the back. Danny struggled to retain his footing. He looked at Mac and shook his head back and forth. Mac nodded to indicate he understood.

"You said if I brought the tape you'd let Danny go," Mac said. "I've got the tape right here," he said, holding up a cassette tape.

"Mac, don't give it to them. I'm not worth this," Danny said in dismay.

"It doesn't make much difference anyhow, both Louie and Sonny are dead," Tony smirked. "We've got other plans for you. Do it Messer."

Danny looked at Mac, then at Tony, then stared straight out in front of him. "Forget it, I'm not doing it."

"Remember what I told you Messer, you do what you're told. Waste him," Tony threatened.

"Where's Lindsay, Mac?" Danny asked.

"She's safe, she's with Stella and Flack now," he assured Danny. "They're on to you boys. You really think after what happened to Sonny they'd take their chances?"

Tony pointed a gun at Danny's head. "Do it Messer!" he shouted.

"Do you think I really care what you do to me? Do you really think I want to live with this tattoo on my back, huh? Take your shot. I'm not doing it," Danny said defiantly.

Tony aimed his gun at Mac. Danny lunged at Tony and the two wrestled over the gun. They both fell to the ground. A gunshot went off. A moment passed, and Danny rolled away from Tony. There was blood on his shirt, but it wasn't his. Tony lay on the ground, dead from a single gunshot to the chest. Joe moved to pull out his weapon. Mac grabbed his gun and trained it on Joe. Danny raised the gun that was in his hand and pointed it at Joe.

"Drop it," Danny said. "It's over."

Joe dropped his weapon. Mac walked over and handcuffed Joe. "You alright," he asked Danny.

"Yeah, I'll live," Danny said.

Mac called for assistance, and the police and ambulance came. Flack arrived with Stella and Lindsay, just as Danny was being looked over by the paramedic. Lindsay went over to Danny and he wept as she took him in her arms.

"Thank God you're okay," Danny said tearfully.

"You too," she said, running her fingers through his hair.

"They marked me, Montana. I've got this awful tattoo on my back now. They tried to make me one of them," Danny sobbed.

"I see that," she said, tracing his shoulder with her fingertips. "You can have it removed, Danny," she said gently.

"It will still be there, under the surface. C'mon Montana, how many cases have we done where all it took was burning a vic's skin to reveal the tattoo underneath," Danny said.

Lindsay broke their embrace to take Danny's face in her hands, looking him square in the eyes. "That tattoo doesn't change who you are," she said. "You stood up to them. You are not one of them." She kissed him firmly and wrapped her arms around him again, holding him tight.

"I could have been," Danny said. "I came real close to doing what they told me. Had Mac not told me you were safe with Flack, I might have killed him."

"But you didn't, Danny," Lindsay said, kissing his forehead. "You didn't. Don't beat yourself up. Any one of us would have been severely tested in these circumstances. But you passed the test," she said, lifting his face towards hers. "You passed," she said, kissing him.

A few weeks later, Lindsay accompanied Danny to the doctor's office to have his tattoo removed. She sat beside him, holding his hand as the doctor performed the laser procedeure. Tears rolled down Danny's face as the doctor worked. He felt he had been branded, violated, that the awful black mark scrawled across his back would never really go away. He hated himself for how close he had come to betraying the people he cared about most. Lindsay reached up and stroked Danny's cheek as he cried. He reached up and covered her hand with his, bringing it to his lips and kissing it.

The doctor finished the procedeure and gave Danny instructions for follow-up care. Lindsay caressed Danny's face. "It's gone now," she said. "It's over."

"For now," Danny said uncertainly.

THE END


End file.
